Infant&#39;s diaper substitute



Jan. 12, 1960 P. D. GREEN 'INF'ANTS DIAPER SUBSTITUTE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. '2, 1957 \\II I:

/N VENTDP. PAUL D. GREEN Afforneys Jan. 12, 1960 P. D. GREEN INFANT'S DIAPER SUBSTITUTE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 2, 1957 INVENTUP. PAUL D. GREEN y *7Mr M Affarneys United States Patent INFANTS DIAPER SUBSTITUTE Paul D. Green, Dexter, Oreg.

Application August 2, 1957, Serial No. 675,853

4 Claims. (Cl. 128-283) The present invention relates to an infants diaper substitute, and more particularly to such an appliance for catching and holding urine and few, replacing diapers used for infants.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an infants diaper substitute which can be easily and comfortably applied to the body of an infant to effectively catch and hold the waste material discharged by the infant;

Another object of the invention is to provide an infants diaper substitute of the class described above that can be emptied, rinsed, cleansed, and sterilized with a minimum of effort.

A further object of the invention is to provide an infants diaper substitute of the class described above which will hold the waste material without leakage until the appliance is removed from the infant.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an infants diaper substitute of the class described above which will maintain the urine out of contact with the body of the infant until disposed of.

Another object of the invention is to provide an infants diaper substitute of this general character which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple to use, and which is durable in service.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the invention illustrated in applied position on the body of an infant, shown in broken lines.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the invention.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the device.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed sectional view of a portion of the device.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the urine receiving bag.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a sealing valve used with the device, shown partially broken away and in section for convenience of illustration.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of the invention.

Figure 9 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 8, partially broken away and in section for convenience of illustration.

Figure 10 is a side elevation, partially broken away and in section, of a second modified form of the invention.

Figure 11 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 10, partially broken away and in section for convenience of illustration.

Figure 12 is a detailed sectional view illustrating the seal structure.

Figure 13 is a perspective view of the device applied to an Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, and referring particularly to Figures 1 through 7 wherein a preferred form of the invention is illustrated, the reference character T indicates generally an infants diaper substitute constructed in accordance with the invention.

The device T has a generally trough-like formation and is adapted to be positioned between the legs of the user.

The trough T is provided with a pair of spaced generally cylindrical sumps 15 and 16 arranged in depending relation to the trough T. The sumps l5 and 16 are provided, respectively, with urine receiving bags 17 and 18 formed of any suitable material such as plastic, rubber, or the like.

The urine bags 17 and 18 have open upper ends encompassing the lower ends of the sumps 15 and 16, and are each provided with a resilient bead 19 extending annularly about the open upper end thereof.

The sumps 15 and 16 are each provided with an annular groove 20 extending circumferentially thereabout above the lower edges thereof. The bead 19 of the urine bags 17 and 18 are, respectively, seated in the grooves 20 on the sumps 15 and 16 to hold the urine bags 17 and 18 in tight contactwith the sumps 15 and 16. An annular downwardly tapering lip 21 depends from the beads 19 in contact with the outer face 22 of the lower end portion 23 of each of the sumps 15 and 16.

The lower end portions 23 of the sumps 15 and 16 adjacent the bottom wall 24 thereof are provided with a plurality of radially extending holes 25 which are normally closed by the annular lip 21. Urine collecting in the sumps 15 and 16 passes through the holes 25 and downwardly between the lip 21 and the outer surface 22 of the sumps 15 and 16.

In the event that urine contained within the bags 17 and 18 tends to fiow back into the sumps 15 and 16, the annular lip 21 serves as a check valve to retain the urine in the bags 17 and 18.

Referring now to Figure 1, a broken line 26 indicates the position of the rectum of the user of the device with the broken line 27 representing the position of the urine passage of the female and the broken line 28 representing the position of the penis of the male.

The device T is held in position on the body of the user by a hanger strap 29 secured to a button 30 integrally formed on the rear of the trough T. A strap 31 is secured to a button 32 integrally formed on the forward end of the trough T and the straps 29, 31 are secured to a garment 33 of the user by means of safety pins 34, as best illustrated in Figure 13. The broken line 35 in Figure 13 indicates the position of a belt which may be used to support the straps 31, 29 when desired.

In the use and operation of the preferred form of the invention, as illustrated in Figures 1 through 7, a flexible disk 36 is mounted in an internal groove 37 in the upper end of the sump 16 to adapt the appliance T for use by males. The disk 36 has a central opening 38 formed therein through which the penis of the male extends so as to seal the sump 16, maintaining the contents thereof out of contact with the body of the user. The flexible disk 36 is formed of highly flexible material and tapers toward the center opening 38 to prevent any possible injury to the user.

In the use of the device T by a male, the testicles are positioned in a compartment 39 rearwardly of the sump 16. A partition 40 extends transversely of the trough T and the sump 15, separating the compartment 39 from a second compartment 41 arranged beneath the rectal opening for receiving fecal matter discharged therefrom. Liquid material in the fecal matter drains through the 3 openings 25 in the sump 15 and is collected in the bag 17.

In the use of the device T by females, urine enters the compartment 39 and is collected in the bag 17 past the lip '21. A port 42 connects the compartment 39 with the sump 16 to provide an overflow connection therebetween to accommodate excesses in urine discharge.

The device T and the urine bags 17 and 18 are formed of flexible material so that they will conform to the body and maintain a seal therewith during movement of the user.

Referring now to Figures 8 and 9, a modified form of the invention is illustrated wherein the trough T' is formed with a pair of compartments 4 3, 44 with the compartment 43 positioned to receive urine from both the male and female, and the compartment 44 carries an absorbent material 45 for receiving the fecal matter. A continuous truss 46 supports the appliance T by having the sump 47 thereof extend through an opening 43 formed in the truss 46. The opening 48' is provided with an annular bead 49 extending thereabout which is seated in an annular groove 50 formed in the sump 47 at the base thereof. The truss 46 is supported from the body of the user by any desired arrangement.

The sump 47 and urine bag 51 are constructed identically to the sump 16 and urine bag 18 so that urine col lecting in the compartment 43 will pass into the urine bag 51 Where it will remain until removed.

A second modified form of the invention is illustrated in Figures and 11 wherein a trough T" is provided with a single compartment 52 for receiving urine only. The trough T" is supported by a truss 46 identical to the truss 46. A sump 47 identical to the sump 47 has an annular groove 50 for sealing engagement with the truss 46'. A urine bag 51' identical to the urine bag 51 is supported on the sump 47'. An absorbent pad 54 is supported on the truss 46 in position for catching and holding the fecal material discharged from the user.

In Figure 12, a further modified portion of the invention is illustrated wherein the trough T has a sealing gasket 55 of generally U-shape engaged over the upper edge 56 thereof. The gasket 55 has a feather edge 57 extending inwardly therefrom for engaging the body of the user to assist in sealing the trough T to prevent liquids from passing between the upper edge 56 of the trough T and the body of the user.

The troughs T, T', and T" may be readily removed from the body of the user by detaching the straps 29, 31 or trusses 46, 46', and can be disassembled for emptying and cleaning without the use of special tools.

In applying and removing the device from the body of a female, no particular assembly problems are involved,

4 however, in the case of applying the device to a male, the flexible disk 36 is removed from the groove 37 within the sump 16 and has the opening 38 thereof engaged over the penis. When the trough T is brought up beneath the body of the user the operator can reach with his fingers between the body of the user and the upper edge of the trough T, forcing the disk 36 into the groove 37, after which the connection of the straps 29 and 31 can be made in the usual manner.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to its use by infants, it is well adapted when constructed in proper sizes to be used by adults who have lost control of their elimination processes.

Having thus described the preferred embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An infants diaper substitute comprising an elongated flexible trough, means supporting said trough in position to collect waste materials from the body, a sump integrally formed on said trough, said sump having a plurality of discharge openings at the lower end thereof, a flexible urine bag detachably secured to and depending from said sump and encompassing said openings, and an annular flexible check valve integrally formed with the upper edge of said bag depending therefrom Within said bag and engaging over the outer ends of said openings to permit flow outwardly only therefrom.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sump is provided with an annular groove extending thereabout and said urine bag is provided with an integral annular head at the upper end thereof engaging in said groove with said check valve integrally depending from said bead.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein a flexible sealing ring is positioned in the upper end of said sump with said sealing ring having a penis receiving opening extending centrally therethrough.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said sealing ring engages in an annular groove formed internally of said sump, and said ring tapers inwardly toward said opening. I

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,389,531 Riche Aug. 30, 1921 2,275,937 Baker Mar. 10, 1942 2,277,043 Cohn Mar. 24, 1942 2,625,160 Maxim Jan. 13, 1953 

